New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key announced on September 24 that he has requested an inquiry into illegal spying on Kim Dotcom and other employees of Megaupload by New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau, the country's counterpart to the US National Security Agency. The revelation is just the latest in a series of exposed missteps by New Zealand authorities in their eagerness to assist the US government in apprehending Dotcom and his colleagues, and throws even more uncertainty on the ongoing efforts by the New Zealand and US governments to extradite Dotcom to the US for prosecution.

According to a government statement, Key was informed by GCSB Director Ian Fletcher on September 17 that the GCSB had "acted unlawfully" while assisting New Zealand's police in locating Kim Dotcom and the other three suspects for arrest. "The Bureau had acquired communications in some instances without statutory authority," the Prime Minister's office said in its statement.

The GCSB is New Zealand's electronic intelligence-gathering agency, and part of ECHELON, the worldwide communication interception network that also includes the NSA and security agencies of the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. It operates two communications interception stations in New Zealand, as well as the government's Internet and network security operations. But the GCSB's role, like that of the NSA, is supposed to be focused on foreign intelligence—not spying on the country's own residents.

“I expect our intelligence agencies to operate always within the law," Key said in a prepared statement. "Their operations depend on public trust. I look forward to the Inspector-General’s inquiry getting to the heart of what took place and what can be done about it.” Because of the bearing of the investigation on the Megaupload case, he said he could not comment further.

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Sean Gallagher
Sean is Ars Technica's IT and National Security Editor. A former Navy officer, systems administrator, and network systems integrator with 20 years of IT journalism experience, he lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. Emailsean.gallagher@arstechnica.com//Twitter@thepacketrat

Why was the NZ so eager to breaks their own laws for the US witch hunt?

Oh don't worry. Canada stands ready to whore it's people out at the drop of a hat as well. Our Prime Minister is like Romney 30 years behind the times thinking this is the time to be sucking up to the US when it is really time to step back so we don't get any on us.

Jesus, I'm in the camp that Dotcom was doing something wrong here (I know that's asking to geta flamed on ARS) but this is getting ridiculous. This trial has turned into a complete cluster-F*. If he is guilty let him pay, they shouldn't need to break NZ laws to bring him to trial. This has turned into a disgrace for legal systems everywhere.

Jesus, I'm in the camp that Dotcom was doing something wrong here (I know that's asking to geta flamed on ARS) but this is getting ridiculous. This trial has turned into a complete cluster-F*. If he is guilty let him pay, they shouldn't need to break NZ laws to bring him to trial. This has turned into a disgrace for legal systems everywhere.

More like showcase for how inapt NZ Government administrations is and how unscrupulous US authorities can be.

When I was graduating from University when GCSB had a booth set up to hire fresh grads. I remember thinking "Are they hiring fresh grads with no real life experience for foreign intelligence work?"

While at University I did a job interview for an Australian intelligence agency (call me a chicken for not naming them :-) and they wouldn't tell me anything about the role I was applying for ("We can't discuss that"). They were really surprised when I declined the offer.

Get 'em young. Mold them to your image.

(I hope DotCom had enough money to buy up popcorn shares when he got arrested. This story has more twists than a 1960s dance).

There is no escape. Or rather, there is no escaping corporations' manipulation of the law. It's like a bad Hollywood adaptation of a Gibson novel: Lone Star that are basically rent-a-cop, local governments that are emanations of the local mega-corp, and crackers trying to make a living (or preserve their freedoms) by widening the cracks in the corporate fabric...

Welcome to the 21st century. Be a criminal unknowingly, or make your living of being a criminal... either way, the law is against you.

When I was graduating from University when GCSB had a booth set up to hire fresh grads. I remember thinking "Are they hiring fresh grads with no real life experience for foreign intelligence work?"

While at University I did a job interview for an Australian intelligence agency (call me a chicken for not naming them :-) and they wouldn't tell me anything about the role I was applying for ("We can't discuss that"). They were really surprised when I declined the offer.

Get 'em young. Mold them to your image.

(I hope DotCom had enough money to buy up popcorn shares when he got arrested. This story has more twists than a 1960s dance).

I found it kind of the same, I looked at applying a few years back and they're more interested in telling you how awesome they are than giving specifics on what you'd actually be doing. Basically WWI propaganda, see the world! Travel foreign lands! Spend 12 hours a day in a back office scrolling through emails! Wait, scratch that last bit...

Glad to see the NZ government is actually taking a stand though, it's the kind of thing that didn't really have to come out at all and doesn't reflect well on them at all. Maybe someone's a little sick of the US pushing them so hard.

When I was graduating from University when GCSB had a booth set up to hire fresh grads. I remember thinking "Are they hiring fresh grads with no real life experience for foreign intelligence work?"

While at University I did a job interview for an Australian intelligence agency (call me a chicken for not naming them :-) and they wouldn't tell me anything about the role I was applying for ("We can't discuss that"). They were really surprised when I declined the offer.

Get 'em young. Mold them to your image.

(I hope DotCom had enough money to buy up popcorn shares when he got arrested. This story has more twists than a 1960s dance).

The booth wasn't even asking anyone questions. They were just handing out flyers on how important intelligence work is.

I would assume that they would actually interview when someone applied for a job there but I haven't heard of any of my Alumni applying for a position with them. Probably because it was an state intelligence angency recruiting fresh grads through pamphlet campaign.

Glad to see the NZ government is actually taking a stand though, it's the kind of thing that didn't really have to come out at all and doesn't reflect well on them at all. Maybe someone's a little sick of the US pushing them so hard.

The enquiry isn't about US manipulation or corruption. It's about who/how the "error" was made. So they will probably just find some poor sap to blame on as "clerical error" or "failure of procedure" and leave it at that.

Glad to see the NZ government is actually taking a stand though, it's the kind of thing that didn't really have to come out at all and doesn't reflect well on them at all. Maybe someone's a little sick of the US pushing them so hard.

The enquiry isn't about US manipulation or corruption. It's about who/how the "error" was made. So they will probably just find some poor sap to blame on as "clerical error" or "failure of procedure" and leave it at that.

I doubt it. The NZ politicians know that the NZ people really don't like the U.S Government. So there is votes in appearing to be tough in the face of "American Pressure". Just look at their stance on Nuclear armed/powered American naval vessels, the U.S even suspended NZ's part in ANZUS (Australia/New Zealand/United States treaty, basically a slimmed down version of NATO) over it, what 30 years ago now?

Granted I'm not a huge fan of the NZ government (I'm Australian) and their utterly offensive defence policy (basically they came out and said that they don't need much of an armed forces because anyone would have to hit Australia force... so they axed most of it... so the Aussie tax payer pays for their defence... we're really not happy about that btw...), but on a lot of issues they are pretty good.

What I want to know is, Why is KDC still walking around? Why hasn't he been quietly kidnapped and Gitmo'd? C'mon, ObamAA, if you're going to make a total mockery out of the legal process of two countries, how about at least giving the U.S. taxpayer a break, huh? After all, Seal Team members cost the taxpayer a lot less than Justice department lawyers.

Nah, I doubt many have any illusions about Dotcom. We just don't like how it's handled.

But handling it legally would be slow and expensive, which certain entrenched interests would prefer to avoid. I suppose this does count towards the bread-and-circus quota. Of course, the last few years playing fast and loose with the laws has become a hobby for the US.

TomTheAlmostUgly wrote:

After all, Seal Team members cost the taxpayer a lot less than Justice department lawyers.

I was going to just skim over your comment, but this demands comment.

It's disturbingly true. I wonder how long until the US gov't cuts the budget by eliminating the inefficient and expensive judicial system in favor of an increased black ops budget?

If only wrong doing by any government agency, let alone spy agencies, could be acknowledged and investigated here in the US. Hats off to NZ for having the decency to actually admit that the government has acted illegally.

Granted I'm not a huge fan of the NZ government (I'm Australian) and their utterly offensive defence policy (basically they came out and said that they don't need much of an armed forces because anyone would have to hit Australia force... so they axed most of it... so the Aussie tax payer pays for their defence... we're really not happy about that btw...), but on a lot of issues they are pretty good.

Wait, what? Australians are actually butthurt over having to pay for something that they had to pay for anyway? You actually care about NZ's reasoning for doing something that doesn't affect you?

Why was the NZ so eager to breaks their own laws for the US witch hunt?

I have no idea. I would have expected our own (Australian) government to bend over for the US before NZ.

Historically, NZ was considered a "friendly nation" by the US rather than an ally (like Australia or the UK) becasue NZ wouldn't allow yank nuclear warships in their ports. I have no idea what's changed (or why it changed so radically).

Granted I'm not a huge fan of the NZ government (I'm Australian) and their utterly offensive defence policy (basically they came out and said that they don't need much of an armed forces because anyone would have to hit Australia force... so they axed most of it... so the Aussie tax payer pays for their defence... we're really not happy about that btw...), but on a lot of issues they are pretty good.

Wait, what? Australians are actually butthurt over having to pay for something that they had to pay for anyway? You actually care about NZ's reasoning for doing something that doesn't affect you?

Aussies are funny :-D

It's not that simple. We pay what we would have and then some.

It's like when I was working at the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. Australia and NZ are currently in the process of forming a joint regulatory body to oversee the production of medicines and medical equipment (ANZTPA - Australia and New Zealand Therapeutic Product Administration) that would replace our current government agencies.

Basically, NZ will oversee their own country, and Australia will audit and regulate foreign manufacturers (we have mutual recognition agreements with most of Europe, Canada, Singapore, etc, but we don't trust and have to audit the facilities of countries like China, the US, India, Mexico, etc). On top of that, NZ are refusing to regulate "complementary medicines", so while we ensure you can't poison someone with magic pills or "natural remedies" (read: placebos), NZ refuse to match our standards.

NZ has a long history of relying on Australia way beyond what's reasonable.

Jesus, I'm in the camp that Dotcom was doing something wrong here (I know that's asking to geta flamed on ARS) but this is getting ridiculous. This trial has turned into a complete cluster-F*. If he is guilty let him pay, they shouldn't need to break NZ laws to bring him to trial. This has turned into a disgrace for legal systems everywhere.

What was he doing wrong, specifically? Offering a download service with adhered to DMCA requests? Yeah, that's REALLY illegal.... NOT!

Bottom line is that DotCom was not doing JACKALL illegal here nor 'wrong'. He cannot monitor every single thing uploaded to MegaUpload. It's just impossible and even Rapidshare and MediaFire have said that on a regular basis, with backing from the FBI people 'in the know' with computers.

Granted I'm not a huge fan of the NZ government (I'm Australian) and their utterly offensive defence policy (basically they came out and said that they don't need much of an armed forces because anyone would have to hit Australia force... so they axed most of it... so the Aussie tax payer pays for their defence... we're really not happy about that btw...), but on a lot of issues they are pretty good.

Wait, what? Australians are actually butthurt over having to pay for something that they had to pay for anyway? You actually care about NZ's reasoning for doing something that doesn't affect you?

Aussies are funny :-D

Yes we're "butthurt" over people who wont contribute to their own defence... You basically said "err why bother, the Australians will pay for it".... we're not entitled to be a wee bit annoyed at that attitude?

As for paying for it anyway, WHAT? Bulldung. You're cutting of your armed forces forced us to expand our coverage even more to protect our flank. When NZ had a decent military we could concentrate on other areas, you covering one side, just like you could do with us covering one side... now you cover nothing and we have to cover everything.

Granted I'm not a huge fan of the NZ government (I'm Australian) and their utterly offensive defence policy (basically they came out and said that they don't need much of an armed forces because anyone would have to hit Australia force... so they axed most of it... so the Aussie tax payer pays for their defence... we're really not happy about that btw...), but on a lot of issues they are pretty good.

Wait, what? Australians are actually butthurt over having to pay for something that they had to pay for anyway? You actually care about NZ's reasoning for doing something that doesn't affect you?

Aussies are funny :-D

Yes we're "butthurt" over people who wont contribute to their own defence... You basically said "err why bother, the Australians will pay for it".... we're not entitled to be a wee bit annoyed at that attitude?

As for paying for it anyway, WHAT? Bulldung. You're cutting of your armed forces forced us to expand our coverage even more to protect our flank. When NZ had a decent military we could concentrate on other areas, you covering one side, just like you could do with us covering one side... now you cover nothing and we have to cover everything.

Just to get a little perspective, we in NZ have a population that just manages to pip Melbourne for size.We do what we can with what we have. If you could defend the whole Eastern seaboard of Australia with the resources of one Australian city, I (and the rest of NZ) would love to know how.

Putting that aside, I personally would like to see NZ spend more effectively on defence than we do. We don't even really have an air force, which is a bit embarrassing. Given that we are an island nation, we do need a bigger navy to protect our EEZ, but that is in the process of being fished out by Russian and Chinese trawlers so won't be a concern soon anyway.

Kim Dotcom gets a lot of press here, more than you can imagine. He is more famous than he deserves to be.

Granted I'm not a huge fan of the NZ government (I'm Australian) and their utterly offensive defence policy (basically they came out and said that they don't need much of an armed forces because anyone would have to hit Australia force... so they axed most of it... so the Aussie tax payer pays for their defence... we're really not happy about that btw...), but on a lot of issues they are pretty good.

Wait, what? Australians are actually butthurt over having to pay for something that they had to pay for anyway? You actually care about NZ's reasoning for doing something that doesn't affect you?

Aussies are funny :-D

Yes we're "butthurt" over people who wont contribute to their own defence... You basically said "err why bother, the Australians will pay for it".... we're not entitled to be a wee bit annoyed at that attitude?

As for paying for it anyway, WHAT? Bulldung. You're cutting of your armed forces forced us to expand our coverage even more to protect our flank. When NZ had a decent military we could concentrate on other areas, you covering one side, just like you could do with us covering one side... now you cover nothing and we have to cover everything.

Just to get a little perspective, we in NZ have a population that just manages to pip Melbourne for size.We do what we can with what we have. If you could defend the whole Eastern seaboard of Australia with the resources of one Australian city, I (and the rest of NZ) would love to know how.

Putting that aside, I personally would like to see NZ spend more effectively on defence than we do. We don't even really have an air force, which is a bit embarrassing. Given that we are an island nation, we do need a bigger navy to protect our EEZ, but that is in the process of being fished out by Russian and Chinese trawlers so won't be a concern soon anyway.

Kim Dotcom gets a lot of press here, more than you can imagine. He is more famous than he deserves to be.

Actually NZ doesn't need to cover the entire Eastern Seaboard of Australia, they just need to be a credible deterrent. No-one wants to get caught between two forces, so NZ doesn't need much of an armed forces, just a credible one, to prevent someone from sailing between us and attack either... by doing so they relieve pressure off Australia and themselves... letting Australia protect the other areas...

As it stands Australia pays for our defence and the defence of New Zealand (which increases our costs, because if we don't cover you we've got an uncovered flank...), and New Zealanders wonder why we're pissed about it?

Oh and for numbers? New Zealand has 4.5 million people, Victoria has 5 million... New South Wales has 7 million, Queensland has 4.5 million, Western Australia has 2.3 million, and South Australia has 1.6 million.

So no, you've got a population roughly equal to one of our states... Given that you were actually offered a chance to be one of our states that's amusing... of course it's not so amusing when one of your PMs says "there is no point in joining Australia, we've got all the benefits of being a state already, without any of the costs" (paraphrase, but pretty close) you might wonder why Australia would want you...

It's worth noting that one of the takeaways from the section of the big Wikileaks embassy cables dump was that it became clear that there have been (and probably still are) elements of our Ministry of Defence (identified in the cables as the "realists" but perhaps more accurately described as the "traitors" who aren't happy with following the instructions of the nation's elected government, and instead believe their primary responsibility is making nice with the US; there were clear indications that officials were briefing US embassy staff ahead of their own ministers, making assurances they'd steer policy in directions the US would prefer against the NZ government of the day, that sort of thing. There were surprisingly few repercussions from that information at the time.

Perhaps some of the same attitudes are at work in sections of the GCSB. That ought to be grounds for a root-and-branch removal of the folks who've forgotten their responsibilities. But then that's what I thought about Defence, too, and nothing much seemed to happen.

It's worth noting the SIS, our domestic intelligence unit and equivalent of MI5, has a long and dishonourable history of being overtly involved in politics; in the 70s they were keeping Labour (left-wing) politicians under surveillance and supplying the National (right-wing) Prime Minister of the day with information he then used in parliament to force the resignation of one MP, for example.

tkioz wrote:

So no, you've got a population roughly equal to one of our states... Given that you were actually offered a chance to be one of our states that's amusing... of course it's not so amusing when one of your PMs says "there is no point in joining Australia, we've got all the benefits of being a state already, without any of the costs" (paraphrase, but pretty close) you might wonder why Australia would want you...

It's not an "offer", it's a part of the Australian founding law. New Zealand retains the right to join the Federation any time we choose. Your combination of that chip on your shoulder, ignorance, and foaming at the mouth bring a little joy into this Kiwi's day.

So no, you've got a population roughly equal to one of our states... Given that you were actually offered a chance to be one of our states that's amusing... of course it's not so amusing when one of your PMs says "there is no point in joining Australia, we've got all the benefits of being a state already, without any of the costs" (paraphrase, but pretty close) you might wonder why Australia would want you...

It's not an "offer", it's a part of the Australian founding law. New Zealand retains the right to join the Federation any time we choose. Your combination of that chip on your shoulder, ignorance, and foaming at the mouth bring a little joy into this Kiwi's day.

Actually no. not anymore, in order to join up now (since you declined) there would need to be a referendum in both countries. It's been explored a few times, the possibility of New Zealand becoming a state of Australia (I think the actual proposal was two states), though it didn't get very far, that's where the quote from Geoffrey Palmer comes from btw. There have also been a few other proposals for new states of Australia (mainly splitting up some of the others, or granting statehood to the NT, but a few Islands were also considered). But in order for it to be done, it would have to be voted on by the public. Chapter VI of our Constitution.

As for "foaming at the mouth", it's general annoyance at one major aspect of New Zealand policy, on most other things I think you're pretty good about, but on that aspect it really pisses me and a lot of other Australians off, and if you can't see why it pisses us off I'm really shocked.